Ariana Is A Demigod!
by DiAngelo646
Summary: Hey! This is Ariana Campbell, a child of Hades! This is the tale of how she got to Camp Half-Blood and her life was turned upside down. Quests, talking cats, and a few more oddities! Please read and drop a review! Disclaimer: Some characters may seem OOC, and all characters that are not mine belong to Rick Riordan. I am not very good at following deadlines. Sorry 'bout that.
1. Chapter 1

**Ariana**

Hi, my name's Ariana. I'm a daughter of Hades, and my life was pretty sweet...Until I found out I was a demigod.

It was a normal day in sixth grade. My math teacher, Mrs. Rogers was teaching us about ratios and proportions. I had already learned these in fifth grade, so I glided through them with ease. I had finished our assignment within minutes, so I opened up my laptop and went to my favorite math website. I was just finishing up one of my tasks when I felt someone poke me.

I whipped around to see someone I've never heard of before...except in books. He had messy, black hair, dark brown eyes, and was _really_ pale. He had a black shirt with dancing skeletons on it and ripped black jeans. I noticed a silver, skull ring on his left middle finger.

Now, I won't deny that I admired his style, but he freaked me out.

"Good God!" I shrieked, nearly falling out of my chair. This person had _literally_ appeared out of _nowhere_! He hushed me, and my math teacher looked over, narrowing her eyes.

"Why are you out of class?" she demanded. The boy looked her full in the eye.

"Our parents called me, and they said that our...grandma died, and we needed to get home. They don't want us to stay at school today." He said this as if he had known me forever, and I realized who it was, nearly exploding out of giddiness.

 _It was Nico di Angelo_.

The boy I'd read about so many times in my books. My favorite character. He was here right before my eyes.

"Okay, then. What are the names of your parents?" She challenged. Nico replied, "Their names are Ted and Janice." He snapped his fingers and Mrs. Rogers had a dreamy expression come across her face.

"Yes, alright. Tell your mother I say hello." With that, she dismissed us, and we were out in the hallway.

"Um, just making sure I'm not dreaming...What's your name?" I asked tentatively.

"Nico di Angelo."

That confirmed it!

"Aaaand what are you here for? How do you know my name?" I questioned further.

"I'm here to take you..somewhere. And I've been informed of your name before I came." He finally answered. I sped up and opened my locker, sticking my binder and laptop into my black backpack. I swung the backpack onto my shoulders and slammed the locker door shut, cringing at the sudden sound in the silence.

"So, how are we getting from Point A to Point B?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Shadow travel." I felt like blowing up out of excitement, but I wasn't about to show it. I was kind of like the...the shy girl of sixth grade. He gripped my wrist and led me into a large patch of shadow, and I felt like my face was peeling off of me. Within seconds, we had arrived at Camp Half-Blood. The place I'd read about and dreamt of visiting since I was nine.

"I give you permission to enter Camp Half-Blood," Nico stated, leading me in. Before I entered, the place looked like a strawberry field. As soon as I entered, the strawberry field view vanished, and I was looking at the most wonderful place ever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Nico**

Chiron told me I would be getting a twelve-year-old named Ariana to Camp Half-Blood. I was actually kind of excited, for once. He trusted me with a kid! I pondered the possibilities of her godly parent.

I shadow-traveled to her school, and I was disoriented for a few moments. I waited for a minute or so, and then snuck into her math class, sensing her.

Her teacher didn't see a thing, surprisingly. Well, I shouldn't say surprisingly-the Mist. I looked around for a second and found a girl completely dressed in black. I looked at her binder and saw Ariana's name on it, and I tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned around. She looked at me, then something flashed across her eyes.

"Good God!" She screamed, and I hushed her quickly.

Juuuust great. Her teacher finally took notice of me.

"I'm sorry, why are you out of class?" She asked me. I thought of a cover story.

"Our parents called me, and they said that our...grandma died, and we needed to get home. They don't want us to stay at school today."

"Okay, then. What are the names of your parents?" This teacher must've been kinda stupid-doesn't the office have all the parents' names on file or something like that?

"Their names are Ted and Janice." I snapped my fingers, manipulating the Mist, and Mrs. Rogers had a dreamy expression come across her face.

"Yes, alright. Tell your mother I say hello." She dismissed us, and I ushered Ariana into the hallway before second thoughts ruined everything.

"Um, just making sure I'm not dreaming...What's your name?" She asked me nervously.

 _Why's she nervous? It's not like I'll maul her for asking questions..._ I thought.

"Nico di Angelo."

"Aaaand what are you here for? How do you know my name?" She questioned further. At least she wasn't scared of me anymore!

"I'm here to take you...somewhere. I was informed of your name before I came." She looked not entirely convinced, and I didn't blame her for being skeptical. She changed her pace to a speed-walk, and she walked up to a navy blue locker. She took out her backpack, shoved her things in, and then slammed the door. I saw her cringe.

"So, how are we getting from Point A to Point B?" she asked as we walked outside.

"Shadow travel," I replied, and she looked about ready to burst out of excitement; I didn't really know why...Had she heard about shadow travel somehow? I gripped her wrist and led her into a large patch of shadow.

We arrived back at camp.

"I give you permission to enter Camp Half-Blood," I stated, and she stumbled, leaning on the barrier. I saw a look of amazement on her face...As if she'd heard about camp before and wanted to visit it really badly. I thought about that flash of realization that went across her face back at the school, and I wondered how she possibly could've known me. I decided I would interrogate her about it later, and gave her the tour.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ariana**

Nico gave me a tour of the place, and I was in absolute awe. When we were done, Nico took me to the armory again to pick out my weapon of choice. I tried so many things, but I didn't really like most of them. I tried an Imperial Gold sword, Celestial Bronze knife, even a silver dagger.

"I guess we'll come back later." Nico sighed, beckoning me towards him as soon as the horn sounded for lunch. I wanted to sit with Nico at the Hades table because he was alone, but I knew the rules. I sat at the Hermes table because my godly parent hadn't claimed me yet. I scraped a bit of my food into the fire for the gods, and then I started my meal. As soon as I finished, I sat by the lake, and I chatted with the naiads. The way the books described them, they seemed quite air-headed, but they were actually pretty interesting to talk to! I chatted with them until the horn sounded for dinner, and I was elated. Maybe my godly parent would claim me at the campfire! I put everything back into my backpack and I got up, walking towards the slowly ascending, color-changing flames.


	4. Chapter 4

**Nico**

I saw Ariana emerging from the forest.

"Where have you been?" I demanded of her. She stared at me incredulously, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I was talking to the naiads," She replied coolly. I rolled my eyes, hoping that she wouldn't become like...other naiads. She sat down across from me, and she smiled. She seemed really happy. We all started singing the camp songs (I didn't participate), and we got to the s'mores.

I ate my s'more, thinking once more who her godly parent would be. She had an amazing voice, so maybe a daughter of Apollo? But she liked being on her own, so that crosses off quite a few gods. I sighed. I'd just wait and see.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ariana**

I saw Nico looking at me strangely while singing the campfire songs. I thought they were quite funny, but he didn't sing. I knew why; he didn't like singing! Like, at all! He probably thought he would be bad at it or something. Even as a son of Hades, he seemed really friendly, even though he preferred to be a loner. I thought of him as one of those people that look like they could kill you, but they're really a cinnamon roll.

We were finishing up the s'mores when everyone started gaping at something above me, and my heart leaped. _I was being claimed_. I stole a glance at Nico, and he looked paler than he already was. Someone, I couldn't exactly pinpoint who-said something that knocked me out of my senses.

"All hail Ariana, daughter of Hades!" I suddenly understood why Nico was paler. _I was his half-sister!_

I sat still for a moment. I couldn't think. I saw without comprehending what I was seeing.

And I blacked out. Embarrassing!


	6. Chapter 6

**Nico**

Ariana was a daughter of Hades. _Of Hades_. I felt my blood run cold, and I mentally chided myself. _Why are you so worked up about this? You thought she had potential from the start...She's your half-sister now._

Ariana absolutely beamed, then her eyes shut. She fell, and she was unconscious. Will abruptly stood up and motioned a few other Apollo children over to Ariana, and one of the girls (was her name Kayla?) picked her up. They rushed off to the infirmary, and everyone stared after them. I was tempted to get up after them, but Will wouldn't let me anywhere near her.

The whole campfire fell silent, the fire now low and black. Everything was deadly still.

I decided to go see if they made any progress on Ariana, no matter what Solace would say. I poked my head in and then entered. Will was giving Ariana some nectar and ambrosia. I stood next to him, and Ariana's eyes fluttered open. She looked at Will and me, and her eyes widened.

"I wasn't dreaming, then." Her voice shook. Will was flabbergasted.

"Why does she awake _now?_ I was worried!" He shook his head. I wanted to crack a smile, but I didn't.

"I guess she's allergic to bright and cheery people," I said sarcastically. Will chuckled, and Ariana smiled also.

"Are you okay?" I asked tentatively. Ariana shot me a mega-watt smile. For a child of Hades, she sure was cheery.

"I'm fine, Nico! Actually, I feel better than fine." She reassured me. "Will, can I leave now?"

"Um, sure. You don't seem to have any other injuries." She gingerly got off the bed and wobbled a little. Unconsciousness after-effects, I guessed. She grabbed onto my shoulder for support, and I obliged. I had to help her walk to Cabin 13. As soon as we entered, she collapsed upon one of the coffin-beds, and she looked pretty drained.

"I don't feel too good.." She groaned and flopped backward.

"Here. Take this." I risked a bit more ambrosia, and she looked a little better than she was a few seconds ago. She had enough strength to sit up properly on the bed now, which relieved me.

"So, this is the Hades cabin?" She asked curiously. I nodded. She glanced at the bedsheets and smirked.

"Why are the sheets red? Do they expect me to suck all the color up, like Marceline from Adventure Time?" Ariana asked. I cracked a smile, and she started nervously laughing. There was silence for a moment, then she decided to make some small talk.

"So, what's your favorite animal?" She asked. "Mine is a unicorn."

"Well...Hm. I guess mine would be a hellhound." I replied.

"Great! What are your favorite colors? Mine are black and white."

"Black."

"Okay. Um...What kind of books do you like?" When we arrived at this topic, I remembered that I was going to interrogate her.

"Ariana, about that. I saw a book on your desk at the school called The Son of Neptune. Answer me this; does it mention anything at all about Greek mythology? You seemed to be pretty familiar with everything.." I said, my voice trailing off. Ariana shifted uncomfortably, and she gave me a sheepish grin.

"Maybe.." As soon as she said that, she blew up into an explanation of the books. Apparently, there was more than one. And I was mentioned. So was Frank. And Hazel. And Leo. All of us, really. I sat, listening to her intently until she finally finished. I was amazed at the fact that a mere mortal had documented everything. A _mortal._ I thought about who told him about all of us. _So much for keeping both camps a secret from mortals,_ I thought.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ariana**

 **A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't been updating lately! My semester exams are coming up, and I've been working like crazy! Anyway, now that I've grasped things and gotten a handle on them, I should be back to updating regularly. Now, on to the story! :D**

I finished explaining the Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson and The Olympians, and Nico was staring at me as if I were lying. I tilted my head to one side and smiled.

"What?" I asked innocently. I was just feeling out of it, weak and flimsy, like paper. Symptoms: Laughing easily, having a desire to just flop sideways or other ways on a bed or couch, and consistently propping yourself up on your elbows (at least those are my symptoms. Not sure about you).

"It's just that a _mortal_ , a _mortal_ , of all beings, has documented and recorded everything. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was a demigod, like Annabeth or something, but nooo." Nico said. I knew he was half-serious and half-joking, but I still collapsed into laughter. Nico eyed me apprehensively.

"Random Question time!" I declared out of the blue, clapping my hands together.

"And what is 'Random Question time'?" Nico asked me, folding his arms.

"It's where any random time of day, I'll ask you a random question."

"And why are we doing this?"

"Because I feel like it." I finished stubbornly. "So! Here's your Random Question of the day! Oh, and by the way, you have your turn also. Anyway, here it is! Have you ever watched a Disney movie?" I asked. He raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck is Disney?"

 _What. No way. He doesn't know Disney!?_ I thought.

"You've never ever watched a Disney movie?" I asked slowly. Nico nodded, looking at me skeptically. I gaped at him, and he started looking uncomfortable, so I shook my head.

"So, let's change the subject here," Nico said suddenly, snapping me back to reality. "We still haven't found you your weapon!" He exclaimed, grinning. I smiled and jumped off the bed, feeling a wave of nausea hit me. I tried to ignore it, and I followed Nico out the door to the weaponry. I tried everything once more. It was too heavy, too long, too short, too light, or something else. Nothing was good for me. Nico nodded at the end as if he were expecting this, and he led me back to Cabin 13. He walked towards the very back of the cabin, grabbed something, and walked back to me. He unwrapped it, and inside was a...

I gasped.

"Is this.."

"Stygian Iron? Yep." He handed the dagger to me by the handle, and I gingerly took it.

"How long have you had this?" I asked him.

"I found it a long time ago. I already have my sword, so I didn't need it. Hazel didn't want it because she already has her _spatha_. I saved it, just in case." He explained. I smiled largely and strapped the dagger to my belt.

"Can I practice at the arena?" I asked him eagerly.

"Sure."

Before he could say another word, I darted out the door, running to the arena. I saw another boy there, but I didn't pay him much attention...kind of.

I unstrapped the dagger and I tried it out. It felt perfect in my grasp. I sliced a dummy, and it immediately collapsed into a heap of straw. I shifted into the hyperactive side of me, and I sliced through a whole section. I didn't stop until I felt like my very nerves were on fire.

I hadn't noticed, but the boy had stopped and was watching me.

I looked around, and all that was left in my wake was a mangled mess of dummies that once stood. I strapped the dagger back to my belt, and I saw the boy approaching me. I tensed up, and then mentally chided myself.

 _Wait. Why am I tensing up? It's just a boy...Geez._ I finally relaxed, and he walked over to me.

"Hey! You're really good with that dagger. Have you ever practiced with a weapon before?" He asked me, giving me a cute side-smile of some kind.

"Um..no. This was my first time." I said, I started playing with my braid, as I always did when I was nervous. I felt heat creeping up to my face, and I stared down at my boots.

"My name is Cody. Son of Hephaestus." He said.

"My name's Ariana. Daughter of Hades." I replied back. I looked up and we shook hands.

"I like that name. It suits you." He said, then he walked away, leaving me standing there and smiling like an idiot. As soon as I realized what I was doing, I mentally slapped myself.

 _What the heck is wrong with you, Ariana?! It's just a_ boy _._ _You've been around boys before!_ I started tugging at my braid again, and I walked back to my cabin.

"Hey, Nico! I'm back.." I said. I was still tugging at my braid without thinking about it. I sat down on the bed, and the horn for dinner sounded. I sprang back up, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Nico and I walked outside, and we sat down at the Hades table and ate. Soon, 30 minutes later I'm sure, another horn sounded for the campfire. Now the butterflies were fluttering even faster.

Cody looked directly at me and smiled, and he patted a spot next to him. _He wanted me to sit next to him!_ I walked towards him and sat down, smiling.

"Hey there, Ariana!" Cody said to me. I smiled even brighter.

"Hi, Cody." I saw Nico sitting by Will, and both of them were looking at us. I blushed, and Will and Nico grinned. Cody saw that I was blushing, and he gave me another cute smile of his. We talked about random things, and then an Aphrodite girl stood up.

"Listen up, everyone! It's time for the campfire songs!" She called, and everyone erupted into cheers. The flames rose and turned bright gold.

When we finished singing, everyone started cheering once more. They passed around crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate, and we started making our s'mores. Cody and I resumed our talk. Once the general babble had died down, and people started dispersing, guess who stood up?

Nico.

"Hey everyone, wait a minute!" He called, cupping his hands around his mouth like a megaphone. He gave me mischevious grin and Will looked like he was about to explode with laughter.

I paled.

A lot of people came back, muttering amongst themselves.

"Here's my random question! Remember, you have to answer truthfully!" He taunted. I covered my face with my hands.

 _NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO..._

"Do you like Cody? As in _like_ like?" He asked, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Maybe.." I squeaked, barely audible.

"What was that?" Will asked innocently.

"Um..." I wanted to fall into Tartarus right now.

"I DON'T WANT TO ANSWER THIS STUPID QUESTION!" I screamed, and I sprinted away. I sprinted as far away as I could from the campfire. From Will, from Nico. From Cody.

I couldn't believe it.

I was having my first crush. I just met him a few hours ago, but it was one those sensations where you just _knew_.


	8. Chapter 8

**Nico**

"I DON'T WANT TO ANSWER THIS STUPID QUESTION!"

She looked me right in the eyes and screamed, and she got up and ran away. I saw Cody blushing furiously and staring at the ground. Will started lightly chuckling, and I forced a small smile. Travis and Connor told me to do it as a stupid prank of some sort. I mentally kicked myself for doing it, and I argued with my subconscious that I would never tease my siblings like that...

Would I?

Cody glared at Will and me, and he ran off, following Ariana.

"Ariana, wait up!" I heard him call before he ran out of sight and earshot. Connor looked at me and raised his hand for a high-five, which I slapped away.

"It's your fault Ariana is so upset," I spat venomously. Connor's grin faltered, and he put his hand down, folding his arms. Travis slung an arm over his brother's shoulder.

"Geez, Neeks, no need to be so uptight about it," Travis said casually. I bristled, and I had to resist the urge to slap both of their faces, to wipe those smug smiles off their faces.

"Don't. Call. Me. _Neeks._ " I whispered threateningly, and I stormed away before I would lose control, Will scurrying after me. I whirled around, and I raised a hand to stop him.

"Don't follow me. I want to talk to Ariana alone. I'm not trying to be rude...Just please try to understand." I said, and Will nodded. He turned away and walked back to the campfire, everybody there sitting in solemn silence, the fire low and pitch black. I saw Connor approach Will, looking guilty, and he said something, causing Will to shake his head and sit back down where he was.

The first place I thought Ariana would be was the cabin, and I checked, but she wasn't there.

 _Okay...next place. The lake!_ I blended into the shadows and silently stalked toward the lake. I stopped behind a bush. Ariana was sitting with Cody.

 _I wonder what Leo would think about this whole dilemma..._ I thought to myself.

"Um, Ariana, I know you'll probably hate me for asking, but _do you_ like me?" Cody asked tentatively. Ariana whipped around, locked eyes with him, and replied flatly.

"We literally _just_ met a few hours ago, Cody. No, I don't like you." She looked away and got up.

"Look, it's getting late, and I'm not about to get eaten by a harpy. I'm too young to die!" She waved goodbye and walked towards our cabin.

 _Oh, Styx. I gotta get going!_ I quickly rushed to the cabin and sat down on the bed before she got there, acting as if I totally hadn't been spying on her. Totally not.

She stomped inside, sat down on the bed, and blatantly refused to even turn her head in my direction.

Silence.

"Hey, I'm sorry for teasing you during the campfire," I said after a while. I really did mean it.

"Uh-huh. Sure you are." She said. I was irresistibly reminded of the time Bianca told me of our fatal flaw; grudges.

There was another silence.

I stood up, walked over to her, and sat next to her.

"Look, I really am sorry. You should probably know that is not a thing I would've done on my own free will." Ariana unfolded her arms and locked eyes with me.

"Stolls?"

"Yes.."

She tried to stand up and march outside, but I stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"I want to kill them! Let me go-AGH, GODS OF OLYMPUS, YOUR HAND IS COLD!" She finally gave in and fell back upon the bed. I cracked a small smile; Ariana was seething was anger, which I could understand.

"Calm down for a second, will you?"

"Hah! _You_ , telling _me_ to calm down?! I'm perfectly calm! I'm just going to walk outside and decapitate those stupid pranksters! It's something any calm, rational person would do!" She laughed maniacally, which _kind of_ unnerved me.

"Hate to break it to ya sis, but that's the complete _opposite_ of calm." I looked her straight in the eye and saw a manic gleam in there that I had never seen before.

 _Geez, she can be angry!_

"Ariana, _calm down_. You're going to blow a gasket!"

"I don't care! As long as I can make those iMMATURE BRATS RUE THE DAY THEY EMBARRASED ARIANA REAGAN CAMPBELL!" She yelled, finally getting the best of me and breaking free. She bolted out the door, and I leaped up and followed.

"Ariana, _NO_!" I called after her. Everybody poked their heads out of their cabin doors and were confused to see me chasing Ariana towards the Hermes cabin. Then, oh joy, they realize she's after Travis and Connor. Ariana stopped in front of the Hermes cabin. She knocked on the door, a maniacal grin spreading across her face. Travis opened the door, paled, then ran out before Ariana could do anything.

"CONNOOOOORRR!" Travis screamed, sprinting as fast as his legs could take him, Ariana following...

"I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, STOLL!"

Connor looked outside and saw his brother being chased by an insane twelve-year-old, widened his eyes, and ran out after Travis.

Then _Cody_ dropped into the fray.

"Oh, Styx..." He muttered as he stood out the door for a moment. I saw Leo trying hard to stifle his laughter, Harley at his side, and failing miserably. "Ariana! Stop! YOU'RE JUST GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE!" He called as he bolted after her.

"Leave me alone, Cody! I'm going to kill these two!" At just the right moment, Cody picked up a rock, flung it in front of Ariana, and she tripped and fell over.

"Argh!" CODY!" She screamed.

(I was chasing her the whole time to be fair, so don't you dare say that I was a bystander unless you want to feel like the victim of a sword-kabob.)

I jogged over, "helped" her up (Ariana kicked me in the shins and got up herself) and then she turned around to face Cody and me.

"Can I at least kick them?!" Before anyone of us could respond, she walked over to Travis and-

"OWWW!" Travis howled. Ariana kicked him in the crotch. She then proceeded to Connor and kicked him in the stomach, leaving them groaning in pain.

Ariana stomped off back to the cabin, and she seemed satisfied with herself.

"I'm fine now." She said, grinning. "G'night, Neeks!" I stared at her in disbelief.

"Um, good night." The lights went out, and she fell asleep. I couldn't sleep, however. I was up, thinking. I finally fell asleep after an hour or so.


	9. Chapter 9

**Ariana**

I woke up the next morning feeling happy. I got a tiny revenge on the Stolls for embarrassing me in front of my cru-FRIEND. Friend, friend, friend.

It's just weird to start crushing on someone you met a bit of a while ago. Sure, he was cute-NO. NO. No. Those thoughts stop right there. Nuh-uh.

 _Anyway_ , I woke up the next morning to find a note on my bedside table.

 _"Meet me at the arena. -C"_

There was only one thing "C" could stand for, and I decided to take my chances for it. I pulled my boots on and I left a note for Nico, taking Cody's with me.

 _"At arena. See you later. -Ariana"_ I wrote, my tongue between my teeth, and I set it down on my brother's bedside table. I took my dagger from my table, and I walked quietly out the door, shutting it gently behind me.

I sprinted the rest of the way after that.

I arrived at the arena to see the smiling face of Cody.

"Great! You got my note," He said, gesturing to the piece of paper in my hand. "I wanted to talk to you while sparring."

I looked down at my dagger.

"Um, I might need to-"

"Different weapon? I got you." He interjected, winking and doing finger guns.

 _He is a lot like Leo,_ I thought.

"Give me two seconds." He ran out, heading for the armory.

He came back a minute later, with a Celestial Bronze dagger, and he threw it at me, which I gratefully caught.

"Alright. Death dagger strapped on, no chance of killing me, replacement weapon equipped... " He started murmuring, scanning me up and down. "We're all set!" He declared, whipping out his Imperial Gold sword.

"You'd better not injure me with that," I said, and we started fighting.

I thrust the dagger forward, and he knocks it out of my hands easily, still grinning.

"I'm going easy on you, Cody. You remember yesterday where I had mangled all those mannequins..." I reminded him.

He chuckled.

"That's probably true, but you don't have to worry about that now. I'm a moving target. Much harder to catch." He said. I chuckled. He was so sure of himself!

The only sounds we heard for the next 25 minutes was the clanging and grinding of our weapons together. I'd managed to knock his sword out of his grip twice, but he was probably going easy on me, too. After a while, we got tired. I leaned against a mannequin, breathing heavily.

"All...right. You win. I'm tired." I huffed, watching as he pumped a fist into the air.

"Yes! King Cody of Sparta rules!" He exclaimed, and I rolled my eyes.

"I wonder what Leo and Harley are doing..." Cody muttered. Right on cue, Leo walked up behind him.

"Um, Cody...?" I started.

"What? Is there something on my face?" I tried to warn him, but too late.

"BOO!" Leo grabbed Cody's shoulders, shaking him slightly, and he jumped.

"Holy Hephaestus, Leo, give a brother a warning when you're about to scare them out of their wits, will you?!" He grumbled, Leo and I laughing.

"That would ruin the effect, Codes," Leo chuckled, still winded from his laughing fit.

"Your nickname is 'Codes'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow, trying not to laugh at Cody's discomfort.

(Don't accuse me of being a hypocrite, here! The stunt the flea-brained twins pulled on me was more personal. This was just a little bit of fun.)

"Ugh. Yes.." He mumbled, folding his arms, his face red.

"Don't mind if I use it, do ya?" I asked jokingly. His eyes lit up, and he smirked mischievously.

"As long as I get to call you Ari." He said.

 _Wait a minute...Isn't Ari the name of the bird on JaidenAnimations or something?! You know what, fine, whatever. I can roll with this,_ I thought.

"Sure. I don't care." I said.

"Great!" Cody exclaimed, a mischevious light dancing in his bright brown eyes. Leo was now grinning.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing." He shrugged, which kind of annoyed me. If he was thinking what I thought he was thinking...Let's just say he was going to regret it.

"Let's go see what the others are doing," Cody suggested, and I nodded. We walked outside, and as soon as I stepped a few feet away from the arena, something barrelled into me.

"AGH! What the Hades?!" I screamed as Cody and Leo doubled over in laughter. A...skeleton dog?

"Language, Ariana." I heard a familiar voice say. My face turned red, and Nico chuckled.

"What were you at the arena for?"

"Traning," I replied. Nico glanced at Cody.

"Right. _Training_." Nico got down on his knees and patted his lap, and the dog romped over to him, giving me a chance to stand up.

"What'd ya name him?" Leo asked.

"Primo," Nico replied, now rubbing the dog's bony belly.

"It probably means something, doesn't it?" Leo asked.

"It means 'first' in Italian." Nico murmured. The dog was a large male Maremma Sheepdog.

"Primo is beautiful." I complimented, and Nico smiled.

"Thank you. Bringing back the dead isn't easy, y'know." He joked, and I smiled.

"I'm kind of bored. What should we do before Will finds out Nico brought a dog back from death?" Cody asked, and Nico whipped his head up at him.

"Will doesn't need to know anything." He said and put a finger to his lips. I snickered, and I made the gesture of zipping my lips. I got closer to Primo, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, and kneeled down to pat his head. I thought Primo would try to bite me, but he eyed me uneasily, letting me pet him anyway.

"So, what _are_ we going to do?" I asked.

"Hmm. I'll be right back." Leo said, and he sprinted off to the Hephaestus cabin.

"Any idea what he's going to do?" I asked Cody. He shook his head no. There was a silence between us, besides the usual camper babble and Primo panting. Several minutes passed by.

"I'm back!" Leo called seven minutes later, a little machine with him.

"What does that do?" Cody, Nico, and I said in unison.

"Look!" Leo pressed a little bronze button on the side, and the machine expanded, a little microphone popping up at the corner, a bunch of buttons coming into better visibility, and a screen appearing.

"That hasn't answered our question." Nico pointed out.

"Well, it's pretty simple. You press this red button," he indicated a red button right underneath the screen. "And the machine will start recording you. You speak into the mic, make silly sounds and stuff, and it'll record you! When done, press the yellow button," he indicated a yellow button. "And playback your recording!"

"Cool!" I exclaimed. "What's it called?"

"Hmm. How about you name it?" He asked me.

"Oh! Okay. How about the Noisemaker?" I suggested.

"Not as good as the Valdezinator, but good enough," Leo said. I smirked, and we set it down on the ground.

"So, what should we do with it first?" I asked, turning around to the others.

"Hmm..." Nico turned on the Noisemaker, and Primo was startled by the screen lighting up, and he started barking. Nico quickly pressed the red button, and Primo was being recorded barking. We all started laughing, and then Primo piped down. I punched the yellow button, and the video played back.

What Leo _hadn't_ told us was the fact that the machine distorts whatever sound it processes and makes it extremely... _weird_.

The barks were mixed into a song of some sort, and the laughs in the background were just ODD. I fell over in laughter, and Primo was just staring at me like I was a lunatic...I probably was and still am.

Leo was now wiping tears of laughter out of his eyes.

"Leo, you didn't tell us it would do _that_!" Nico exclaimed, but he was laughing anyway.

"It's a kink that I didn't bother fixing because it makes everything ten times funnier!" Leo said, still laughing.

"Hey, let's do another one!" Cody exclaimed.

We went on doing random sounds for the Noisemaker until lunch when the horn sounded.

"Well, Cody and I have to go. Nice making weird soundtracks with you guys!" Leo said, pressing the bronze button and heading off to the Hephaestus table, Cody scurrying after him.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nico**

During lunch, I kept noticing how Ariana was blankly staring at Primo, not taking in anything, just absent-mindedly taking bites of her food and thinking.

"Earth to Ariana!" I said, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked and looked over at me.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." She muttered.

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah...I'm fine."

"Um, you're not fine. Something's up, and you're not telling me."

There was a silence until Ariana started tugging at her braid and sighed.

"I just...I don't feel good. There's been this tingling in my stomach since the arena, and it's not butterflies-" She stopped all of a sudden. As I was about to open my mouth, Ariana jumped up and ran.

She found a bucket and threw up in it.

Ariana stopped, shaking, and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. I got up and ran up to her.

"Ari, what was that?" I asked, flabbergasted.

"Ugh...I don't feel good..."

 _She's so pale! In a sickly way, too..._

"Come on. Can you walk?" I asked.

"I think so," Ariana replied in a feeble, weak voice.

"Up you get. We're going to the infirmary." I half-carried, half-walked her to the infirmary, and helped her get into a bed. I found some ambrosia and nectar and gave it to her.

"I feel horrible..." She groaned. I gave her another third of the ambrosia square, and she regained a bit of her color but was still weak. Exactly one minute later Will burst in with Kayla.

"Nico, what happened to your sister?!" Will demanded of me.

"I don't know! She was just telling me she wasn't feeling good and she threw up." I said. Will shook his head and he took her temperature.

"Holy Apollo! She's burning up!" He exclaimed, and he turned to me.

"Did you already give her anything?" He asked.

I broke another third off the ambrosia. "I gave her this much, twice, and a quarter of nectar." Will nodded.

"Kayla, get Ariana some more nectar!" Will called to his half-sister, and she nodded. Kayla rushed over with another glass of nectar, and she gave it to then, Primo bounded in.

 _Oh, Styx! Not now!_ I desperately thought.

Primo started barking, and Will stared at me.

"NICO DI ANGELO!"

 _Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no..._

I was about to open my mouth to make up an excuse, but then Ariana muttered something about the dog being hers, and Will scrambled over to her side.

"Ariana, are you feeling any better?" Will asked gently. Ariana clutched her stomach.

"No...Not at all...My throat hurts, my stomach is churning, and I feel like my brain is going to melt." She proclaimed weakly.

"You should just relax. Rest a little." Kayla told her. Ariana laid back down, and she closed her eyes.

"When is she going to be let out?" Leo and I asked in unison.

"Hmm. Well, it depends on the severity of her illness. I'd say two days, give or take." Will said.

"Alright. I'll go tell Cody." Leo said, attempting again to take the dog with him.

"So, I guess I'll be leaving too." I said, side-stepping out the door before Will could interrogate me about Primo. As soon as I walked out, Cody came up to me.

"Is Ariana all right?" He asked anxiously.

"Ariana's fine." I replied.

"Um, _no_ , she isn't fine, unless you missed her little puking scene during lunch!" He exclaimed.

"She just has a little fever. Relax." I said. Cody glared at me.

"Uh-huh. And that's perfectly fine." Before I could say anything, he walked away. I sighed, running my hands through my hair. I walked back to the Hades cabin. What I didn't know was that there was another note on my bedside table.

"What is this?" I murmured as I picked it up.

 _We're coming_.

"What the heck...?" I muttered.

"I've got to go show Chiron..." I took the note and ran to the Big House.

"Chiron!" I called as I burst in. He rolled over in his wheelchair.

"Oh, hello Nico. What is it?" He asked.

I gave him the note, and the color drained out of him.

"Oh dear. Who gave you this?" He asked of me.

"I don't know. I just found it in my cabin." Chiron locked eyes with me.

"Can you get your sister, please?"

"Er..sure..If she has the strength to walk.." I muttered under my breath. I walked back to the infirmary, and found Ariana laying in bed all alone.

"Hey, Ariana? Can you come with me real quick?" I asked quietly. Ariana's eyes fluttered open.

"Hmm? What for?"

"Something important is all I'm going to tell you."

"Oh, fine." She grumbled. She gingerly slid off the bed, and feebly stood up.

"Oh Gods, I feel very dizzy," She said, then looked up at me and giggled. "Why are there four of you?" She mumbled, then nearly passed out. I dragged her to the Big House, and Chiron looked her over.

"I-"

"CHIRON!" Someone interrupted, rushing in with Rachel. It was Percy.

"Why, what is it Percy?" Chiron asked, turning his wheelchair around to face him.

"It's Rachel! She-"

Rachel opened her mouth, and green smoke billowed out of it.

 _"Two children of Hades must travel North_

 _To find the sacred keys of the Titan Birth_

 _They shall lose one in the Land of The Dead_

 _And will be overcome with a river of dread._

 _At the dawn of summer one will reap_

 _The soul of the demigod who shall weep_ _."_

Rachel then came back to consciousness.

"Whoa! I'm back. What'd I miss?" She said. Chiron looked stricken, Percy's mouth contorted to a grimace.

"Well, now we have a new prophecy that could destroy the world as we know it. _Just great_!" Percy said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Ariana stared at the ground.

"Does that mean Nico and I, or Nico and Hazel?" Ariana murmured. Rachel slung an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry! Don't you guys get three companions to accompany you on the quest?" She asked.

"That's not why I'm worried..." Ariana contradicted.

"Then why are you?" Ariana glanced at Rachel and then locked eyes with me.

Silence.

"I'm worried about my siblings' safety."

 ***A/N: I am terrible at rhyming and prophecies, so please don't explode in anger in the review section...! I'd really appreciate it XD**


	11. Chapter 11

**Ariana**

I was worried that Nico would get hurt or worse on the quest. And as for the line "They shall lose one in the Land of the Dead"? I was terrified Hazel would be taken back to the Underworld.

Everyone stared at me, and I felt uncomfortable.

"I'm just going to uh...go back to the infirmary." I said, gently taking Rachel's arm off me and shuffling away, waves of nausea hitting me.

But I didn't go to the infirmary. No, I went back to our cabin.

 _I'll be fine. It's just a mild fever. Nothing to worry about._

I sat on the bed and curled up into a tiny ball, trying to ignore my dizziness. I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Ari, can I come in?" It was Cody.

"Yeah. Sure." He came in and sat down next to me, and I scooted away a little, making him grin.

"Hey, I'm not that scary, am I?" He asked jokingly. I cracked a small smile.

"I'm sick. I don't want you to catch what I have." I said. "Oh, and by the way, how did you know I was here instead of the infirmary?"

"I checked. Naturally." He said.

"Oh. Yeah. Silly me. My brain is muddled."

"Isn't there a rule claiming that boys and girls cannot be alone together?" I asked, frowning slightly.

"Eh, nobody follows that anyway." Cody said.

Silence.

"So, how's your day going so far?" I asked, trying to make some feeble small talk.

"Good. Can't say the same for you, though, can I?" I lightly punched his arm.

"Do me a favor and shut up, Codes." I said.

"Hmmm. How 'bout _no_?" He taunted.

I hadn't realized it, but I was feeling better in his presence. Why?!

"You feeling okay now?"

"I...think so."

"Great! Let's take a walk." He took my hand, which surprised me, and I stood up.

"Wha...What are you doing?" I asked, slightly embarrassed. He smiled.

"Making sure you don't fall on your face."

"Oh, haha, very funny."

We walked by the lake, talking, and I was ever so slightly disappointed that Cody had let go of my hand.

"Let's play a game." He said all of a sudden.

"Oh? Which game?"

"Would You Rather." He declared, grinning. I groaned. I absolutely hated this game! I decided to play it against my will just to humour him.

"Alright, then. Who goes first?" I asked him.

"I'll go. Would You Rather have a Cyclops or a Giant as a sibling?"

"Hmm...I'd have a Cyclops." I said. "Alright, my turn! Would You Rather have fought in the Battle of the Labyrinth or the battle with Gaea?"

"Battle of the Labyrinth." He said. I agreed. We kept going back and forth like this until we decided to go back.

" _Ariana!_ " I heard someone call. I turned around and cringed.

It was Will. Of course it absolutely _had_ to be Will!

He jogged up to me.

"Why in Apollo are you not in the infirmary?" He asked me, narrowing his eyebrows.

"I feel better now..." I shrugged.

"Oh, really? He asked, raising an eyebrow. "No nausea, no head swimming, no stomach cramps?"

"I'm absolutely fine, Solace. Now leave me be." I said, waving a hand and walking towards him to shoo him away. Something danced in his eyes, and he smirked.

"Alright, _Ari_. Whatever you say." And he walked to the Apollo Cabin. I turned back around to face Cody.

"What the heck just happened?" I asked. He shrugged, and I saw Nico running towards us, panic in his expression.

 **A/N: Soooo sorry! This is a late upload, but I caught the fever and I've been slowly dying. Feeling better now! I'll hopefully have stuff back on track again now that I'm on winter break...**


	12. Chapter 12

**Nico**

I came running toward Ariana, panic building up in me. She came running over to me.

"Nico, wh-what's going on?!" She asked.

"Minotaur at the perimeters with an army. They-They're looking for _you_." I said quietly. Ariana narrowed her chocolatey-brown eyes in pure anger.

"I'm going to go see what this is all about." She said quietly and stomped off. I went after her.

"No, no, Ariana! We'll fight them off-you need to get yourself somewhere safe! I can shadow travel you to-to dad's or something!" I pleaded. Instead, she hardened her expression and quickened her pace. I was absolutely terrified that Ariana was about to meet the same end as Bianca.

"Ariana! No!" It wasn't me that said it this time...It was Cody. He sprinted up to her as we neared the perimeter.

"You can't just _give_ yourself to them! Nico's right!" He exclaimed. Ariana whipped around, pointed a finger at his chest, and bristled.

"I AM _NOT_ A LITTLE GIRL! I AM PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF WATCHING OUT FOR MYSELF!" She yelled as Cody shrunk smaller and smaller. She sprinted to the perimeter, only to find an army of demigods ready to face off against the minotaur and the legions of _dracanae_ and _empousai._ She pushed through them, and finally got to the front. My heart dropped down to my feet, and I was filled with dread.

"What do you want with me?" She called out to them, cupping her hands around her mouth.

"This is a peaceful approach, child of Hades. We only need you for a small thing." An _empousa_ said. Ariana folded her arms.

"You didn't answer my question!"

"We need you to find the keys. If you don't agree, we will have to use force upon you and your loved ones." The _empousa_ proposed, and Ariana paled, stepping back.

"Not a chance, slimeball!" She screamed, whipping out her dagger. And that was when all Hades broke loose-demigods killing monsters, Ariana suddenly at my side, both of us battling, and the Minotaur's bellows ringing in my ears.

"Nico, heads up!" Ariana screamed, and I ducked just in time as a scythe whooshed above my head. I looked up to see telkhines arriving now, and I internally groaned. Ariana made a sound that I couldn't distinguish between a groan or a squeal.

"They keep on coming! They're going to outnumber us pretty soon!" Ariana said, whirling around like a tornado, stabbing everything in sight.

"Ariana, you are _not_ going to sacrifice yourself! Brother's orders!" I said desperately, but too late.

"Cover me!" Ariana ordered, making her way through the crowd. "Ugh, this is useless!" She cupped her hands around her mouth and screamed, "STOP THE FIGHT!"

Everyone froze, and the same _empousai_ from earlier walked over to her.

"Surrendering?" She purred. Ariana stiffly nodded. "Good, good. Come." The _empousa_ beckoned her forth, and she walked as slow as possible.

"One second," Ariana said. She twisted around and locked eyes with me, and I knew what she was thinking: _I'll be back sooner than you think. Don't worry._

They whisked Ariana away, and we watched. I wanted to run at her and pull her back, but I couldn't. Instead, I fished in my pockets for a moment and threw a small bag of pomegranate seeds to her. She caught it, and looked back at me gratefully, and continued on her way.

 **A/N: Suuuuper late chapter! I'm really sorry, I'm struggling to keep up with my deadlines since I'm always busy. Again, sorry!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Cody**

 _This isn't happening. I have to be dreaming. Yes, when I wake up, everything will be perfectly normal!_

I pinched myself, hard, to make sure I _was_ dreaming.

I wasn't.

They took away Ariana! _My_ Ariana! My best friend! Just took her like it was nothing! _We_ did nothing to keep her from going!

You're probably thinking, "Dude, you just met her, like what, two days ago? Why are you crushing on her?"

Shut up. Just shut up. I can't help it, okay!? I like her! End of discussion.

As my thoughts were whirling around in my head like a hurricane, I saw Nico throw Ariana a bag of pomegranate seeds, and she was gone. _Gone,_ for Hephaestus knows how long! And what was more infuriating was that a few campers just turned around and went back like it was nothing! I absolutely _fumed_. I turned to Nico, who had his head in his hands now, and tapped him on the shoulder.

" _What. Is. It?_ " He growled.

"Don't get mad at me. I'm worried too. Heck, I have to exercise all my self-control to not borrow Festus from Leo and go after her! We have to plan for this inevitable war. Get the quest going...Ariana's a tough cookie. She'll be okay...I hope." I added under my breath. Nico turned to me, and I braced myself for his wave of fury. Instead, to my surprise, he took a deep breath and steadied himself.

"When I find those little-" Nico cursed. "-I am going to tear them apart _limb. From. Limb._ " He stalked off to find Chiron, and I scurried after him, but Leo grabbed my arm to hold me up.

"Hey, Codes, wait up." He said, and I whipped around.

"What do you want?!" I yelled at him. He held up his hands in surrender.

"Don't explode on me! I was just going to tell you if you're going to go on this quest, what are you going to go for?" He asked mischievously.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ , are you going to go on the quest to find Ariana, or to help find the keys?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"We'll see," I said before turning and running after Nico, but I already had the answer—

I was going to go on the quest for _both_. I would find the Keys and Ariana. This thought settled into my mind, and I went off to find Nico and Chiron.

I looked for _two whole hours_ , but I couldn't find them. _Desperate times call for desperate measures_ , I thought, and I set off for Bunker Nine, wanting to activate my little..."Camera Buddy".

 **A/N: Another chapter of this tale concluded! Wow, this is going to be long...Is it wrong that I just realized this? XD**

 **I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it, and I just wanted to say, this might extend into a whole series! Huge thing to reach for, I know, but that's not stopping me! Hope you have a good day/night, and thank you for supporting me in this!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ariana**

The team of monsters took me to a deep, dark cavern, covered in...Silver moss?! Well, _that's_ whacked up...

They took me deeper and deeper in, and the deeper we went, the more of that weird, silvery moss came, and it got cooler and cooler (in the sense of temperature). I was glad I had my jacket on-it kept me warm, and I had a pocket to put the bag of pomegranate seeds. When Nico first threw me the bag, I was confused, and then I remembered from reading the books that children of Hades could eat Persephone's seeds to keep them...

 _No,_ I reprimanded myself. _You'll stay alive. You'll get back to the others. The monsters won't kill you if they really do need you._

I couldn't help feeling scared out of my wits.

We went deeper still, and I was starting to question whether this cavern ended or not.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, injecting some confidence into my voice and refusing to look intimidated. The _empousa_ sighed exasperatedly.

"Why do humans ask so many questions? We're going into the heart of Khione's Cavern."

 _Khione...Khione...OH SCHIST! KHIONE!_ I screamed in my head, and I started slightly freaking out. Wasn't she that evil, messed up daughter of...Was it Boreas? Yeah, I'm positive it was Boreas. The fangirl in me has finally paid off!

We went deeper and deeper, and until the temperature was, I'm sure, 0 degrees Fahrenheit, FREAKING _FREEZING_ , we stopped.

"Your hignessssss...We have arrived with Hadesssss ssspawn." A _dracaena_ hissed, and a chilling laugh was heard from somewhere.

"Good! Is it that emo, goth child? What's his name...Nick? Or is it that other girl that can summon jewels?" I bristled and jumped forward.

"THEIR NAMES ARE NICO AND HAZEL! And no, it isn't either of them! My name is Ariana!" I shrieked to the room, and there was a pause.

"Another child of Hades? Hm. Interesting. When did you find this out?" Khione's disembodied voice asked.

"Why do you care?"

"None of your concern, child."

Everything was silent afterward.

"Well?"

I snorted.

"You really expect me to tell you? When Tartarus freezes over!" I yelled back. I heard a grunt of annoyance.

"Take the girl to her.. _chambers_." She drawled at "chambers" and two _dracanae_ grabbed my arms and threw me into a...A room. A _room_?! Not even a cell, a room! Wow. Khione sure did know how to get people to co-operate...but I was not about to fall for her hospitality act. I knew she was going to butter me up like a biscuit, and when the time was right, "dispose" of me. Eat me.

Kill me.

I walked around the room cautiously, not daring to touch anything, expecting it all to be beyond freezing and cause me to suffer from frostbite, but when I gingerly touched the bed, it was...Warm. It was warm! So the room wasn't a trap. I decided to get comfortable. I was going to be Ice Queen's prisoner for a loooong time.


	15. Chapter 15

**Nico**

I had a talk with Chiron and left seething. He expected me to just sit back, relax, and wait for my little sister's outcome! She might not even survive with those...Those...UGH! I stormed off to my cabin and fell upon the bed, putting my head in my hands and trying not to lash out at everything near me. I heard light knocking, turning incessant, and then someone's voice.

Will's.

"Hey, Neeks. Let me in! Please? Tell me what's wrong, we can work through it together!" I heard him plead. I sighed and got up to open the door to the cabin and let Will in, proceeding to sit back down on the bed. Will saw me in distress, and he smiled softly, closing the door and gently sitting down next to me.

"So, why are you upset? I know it's because Ariana's gone, but you seem to be rattled more...on the inside." He said.

"She reminds me so much of Bianca. It's been years, but I just can't grasp the fact that she...left. I won't be able to live with myself if Ariana dies too." I said, my voice shaking slightly.

"It'll be _fine_. Ariana's tough, as far as I know. She should be able to get through this. And didn't you say..?"

"Books. Yeah, books about us."

"Then she'll know the majority of the monsters, and what to expect, and how to fight them," Will reassured me, but I still couldn't help feeling uneasy.

"I guess, but...You can't expect me to just abandon the fact of harm altogether...You _aren't_ expecting me to do that, right?" I said. Will looked me incredulously.

"When we reach that point, that's when you're getting careless or desperate. Most likely careless." He said, his voice hinting that he was joking.

"I just...I don't feel good. End of discussion." I said firmly and pointed out the door. Will got up, telling that I needed space for now, and he walked out, but not before saying this.

"You should tell Hazel. She'll want to know about another sibling of hers, _especially_ when they're taken." With that, he left, and I pondered this thought of his for a bit before taking it into consideration. I walked over to a little patch of shadow in the back of the cabin, and I shadow-traveled to Camp Jupiter, preparing to tell Hazel about Ariana.

Ariana would've been excited to meet her.

 **A/N: I've been writing short chapters lately because I'm having slight Writer's Block, but I've been looking at other stories and headcanons to move me along, and hopefully I'll be writing more lengthy chapters soon!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Cody**

I watched Nico's conversation with Chiron, and when Nico left, I switched the Camera Buddy to where Ariana was and was met by white and blue static, and I kept swiveling it around, but nothing worked. Groaning in frustration, I swiveled it more incessantly, and nothing worked. I was still met with that stupid white and blue static! It eventually started making a horrible noise, and I gave up, turning the Camera Buddy off. I got up and walked out of Bunker Nine, heading for the Hephaestus cabin, as it was late now. Leo confronted me in his pajamas halfway there.

"Hey, Cody, why were you in Bunker Nine?" He asked. I stared down at my feet and mumbled something.

"What?"

Another mumble. Leo was annoyed now.

"Dude, stop mumbling and speak up! Look at me and speak _clearly_ , please."

I looked up at him and hissed defiantly, "Not now! I'll tell you inside!" I ran inside, and Leo came in after me, and he closed the door quietly and turned around, facing me and folding his arms.

"So, why were you in Bunker Nine this late? I know as a fact you aren't building some crazy prehistoric bronze robot. Or repairing one." He said skeptically. I sighed in defeat.

"Alright, fine. I was in Bunker Nine using the Camera Buddy to eavesdrop on Nico and Chiron's conversation and to try to figure out where Ariana was. When I was pinpointing Ariana, I was met with white and blue static everywhere." I said in one breath, staring down at the ground in embarrassment. Leo raised an eyebrow.

"So you spied on the Ghost King, who would kill you if he found out, and you tried stalking Ariana with the Camera Buddy?" He asked slowly. I nodded.

"Wow. Just wow. Hypothetically, did you understand what Nico and Chiron were talking about?"

A wide grin spread across my face.

"And why do you need to know again?" I asked. Leo flushed slightly, then cracked a sly grin.

"Just curious."

"Alright, fine, I'll give in. Nico and Chiron were talking about where they could've taken Ariana, and they were thinking about where the most likely places of the Keys were, but they discussed that briefly-touched on it. Nico suggested where the Athena Parthenos once was, but Chiron shot that idea down. They continued going back and forth like that for a while. Once, Chiron suggested Khione's Cavern but then shook that idea off because she would have been dead in the first hour. That's when they stopped and Nico left."

Leo thought for a second.

"I'll talk to Annabeth about Khione's Cavern tomorrow. We need to get some sleep and get the quest going by tomorrow." With that, he climbed into his bed and fell asleep instantly.

I climbed into bed across from him, but couldn't sleep. Not when the life of my friend was hanging in the balance. I finally fell asleep sometime around 1:00 AM, thinking that if they were going to take me on the quest (which I highly doubted) I had to be rested.


	17. Chapter 17

**Ariana**

I woke up the next morning and found a white cat on top of me. Nothing like waking up in Khione's Cavern and having a huge white cat on your lap, scaring you out of your wits, and scrambling out of bed, ultimately getting cocooned into your blanket! I screamed, got tangled, and fell on the floor, and the cat chuckled. Wait a second. It chuckled?! I eyed him, it, whatever, skeptically. It gave me a grin that the Cheshire cat would be proud of, and I narrowed my eyes.

"What. The heck. Are you. Doing here?" I asked it, determined for answers. I didn't expect it to actually _respond_ , however. The cat sat up on its haunches and squared me with its bright, icy blue eyes.

"My name is Blizzard, and I'm here to give you company. Khione forbade it, but, whatever. She may be my master, but I'm her pet. So screw her opinion!" Blizzard said, giving me another grin. He sauntered over, purring and curling up next to me on the ground. I gingerly pet him, and he was _so soft_. His fur was like silk! I continued petting him, and he contentedly purred, and he climbed into my lap. I picked him up, and I set him on the bed. I noticed some food on the floor that I hadn't noticed before, and I looked at it. French toast with some water. _Not too bad_ , I thought, as I picked up some french toast and nibbled it, not really hungry. I cautiously sipped the water, and it wasn't poisoned or tainted or anything, so it seemed okay. I finished the rest of my breakfast slowly and gradually, and I paced the room.

"Oooo-kay, how am I going to get them off the trail of the Keys?" I muttered to myself, my pacing becoming more insistent. Blizzard stretched and hopped down from the bed, walking alongside me.

"Might I ask a question?" He asked.

"Um, sure..?"

"Why the heck did you consider coming with the Googlies anyway?!" He meowed scornfully. I stifled a laugh. _Googlies?_ I thought. _Isn't that what StampyLongHead calls monsters?_

"Er, you mean monsters, right?" I asked uncertainly. Blizzard nodded.

"Well, I came with them because they threatened to hurt my friends and family...My loved ones," I said solemnly. "I was not about to let that happen, and they kept on bringing more reinforcements, so I gave in. I ignored Nico and Cody telling me not to go, it would be all right, because I it wouldn't. It wouldn't."

Blizzard stopped walking alongside me and stared straight ahead, arching his back and hissing. I whipped around, and there was...An Iris-Message. An Iris-Message! But from whom?

It was Hazel Levesque. She looked worried, Nico at her side looking relieved. My face broke a small smile.

"Nico! How...I didn't even know that iris-Messages could come through to Khione's Cavern!" As soon as I said "Khione's Cavern", Nico and Hazel blanched. I stared at them.

"Um..What?" Then I cringed. "Don't you _dare_ think about _saving_ me. I know what I'm doing!" I said, narrowing my eyes. Hazel shook her head.

"It's not that! Well, partly. How are you not dead from the cold?!" She demanded. I shrugged.

"How the heck am I supposed to know? It's probably because she needs me to find the keys..."

"That may be true, but you look _perfectly fine_! No blue tinge, no injuries, nothing! You look the same as you were back at camp! I was expecting you to be a freaking popsicle by now!" Nico said exasperatedly. I fixed them both with a withering death glare.

"Don't. Tell. _Anyone._ At _any_ camp, that I am in Khione's Cavern. They'll all go into a freaking panic, and I don't want this huge rescue party coming. Please!" I exclaimed. They both nodded in unison, but then Hazel pointed at Blizzard.

"Who's cat is that?" She asked skeptically. I sheepishly grinned.

"How 'bout next time? Buh- _bye_!" I exclaimed, before waving my hand through the screen and disconnecting. My last view of Nico and Hazel was them in protest, and then the screen dissolved. Blizzard grinned.

"Why didn't you tell them who I was?"

"I don't think it would've sat well with my half-siblings that I was friends with a pet of Khione's."

He nodded. "Wise choice, Hades spawn." Blizzard sauntered out, and three minutes passed before he came back with an icy slab of some kind in his mouth.

"What's that?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me. He smiled.

"Khione's map of where she thinks the Keys are."

I grinned, and we both set to work on the icy map.


	18. Chapter 18

**Nico**

As soon as Ariana disconnected the Iris-Message, I groaned.

"Ugh! Why does she have to be so stubborn?!" I exclaimed. Hazel put her hand on my arm.

"She seems kind of headstrong, but you told me yourself, for the short time you've known her as a sister, she looks to be able to take care of herself." She said quietly, looking at the spot where Ariana disconnected herself from us. Hazel's golden eyes glinted, and she turned to me.

"Didn't you say that you guys were supposed to get a quest today?" She asked, and I gasped.

"Oh, Styx! I completely forgot!"

"Well, then you'd better get going!" Hazel exclaimed, and she shoved me into a shadow, and I fell through, reappearing at Camp Half-Blood and smashing onto the ground.

"Ow! Geez, that hurt..!" I muttered to myself, rubbing the arm that I had landed on, and heading for the Rec Room. The meeting was already underway, so I slipped into the back of the crowd, behind a Hecate girl.

"-going. Who wants to go on the quest?" Chiron asked. Cody's hand shot up into the air first.

"I'll go!" He exclaimed, a determined look on his face. Chiron nodded.

"Very well, then...I'm sorry, where is Aleanne?" He asked. The Hecate girl I was standing behind nervously stepped forward.

"Here," she said timidly.

"The quest is wrapped around you. There won't be much of a point without our main demigod! Can you and Cody please stand up and stay like that?" He asked. Aleanne and Cody did so. I noticed that Aleanne had coppery hair with a purple streak in it.

"We-erm, we need...we need three more volunteers...Anyone-Anyone else going?" Aleanne asked. I raised my hand.

"I'll go. The prophecy mentioned the Land of the Dead, meaning the Underworld, Hades's domain. You'll need me if you're going to navigate in there." Aleanne nodded.

Two more people raised their hands; a son of Athena and a daughter of Aphrodite.

"Um, what are your names?" Aleanne asked softly. The son of Athena stood up.

"My name is James, James Remus Black." He declared. "I think you'll need me on the quest because you'll need smarts to find the Keys. It's not all magic-based, there has to be some thinking and theory, and sensible reasoning. I am ninety-nine percent sure that there will be traps and riddles that require logic."

"I, er, I guess you can come. What was your name, again?" She asked the Aphrodite girl. She had a blue streak in her hair.

"My name is Janella. Janella Rose Angel. I think I should be able to come on the quest because I have the ability to charmspeak, and Piper has been teaching me how to make my ability stronger. I'm really good at it now, and I am _confident_ that it'll come in handy along the way."

There was a short silence.

"Well, that makes up our team! Any objections from anyone?" She proclaimed, looking around the room. Nobody spoke up, and she clapped her hands together.

"Great! We'll leave at noon..in ten minutes. We have to get going as soon as possible!" Aleanne exclaimed.

And on that note, everybody started dispersing. I head to my cabin and packed everything of mine (which wasn't much) into my black backpack, and I jogged to the front of camp and waited for the rest to arrive.

In five minutes, we were all saying goodbye to everyone at camp. Before we left, however, Will pulled me aside.

"Nico, you _have_ to be careful. If you get injured or worse-!"

"Relax, Will, I'll be fine. Don't need to get all tied up in a knot!" I said, letting a small smile appear on my face. Will hugged me.

"Just be safe. I would like it a lot if you came back not dead." He said, locking eyes with me.

"I'll come back to you."

A second's silence.

"Alright...Now go!" He said, and he twirled me around and pushed me forward, grinning. I grinned back and set off with Aleanne, Cody, James, and Janella. I couldn't help but notice how tense Cody and James were around each other, and I couldn't help but wonder why.

 **A/N: *ducks under potato lobbed at head* It's been a long time, I know, please forgive me?! In case you guys were wondering, Aleanne, Cody, James, and Janella are my OCs, and Piper was from the Heroes of Olympus. All OCs and plots that aren't mine are Rick Riordan's! And, in case you were also wondering about this, yes, I combined my three favorite characters from Harry Potter to create James Remus Black. I hope you like this chapter! GooooooooodBYEEEEEEEEE! *StampyLongHead impressions, yo***


	19. Chapter 19

**Cody**

And so we were off. Off to find the Keys of the Titans' Birth. Hurrah.

But why, oh why, did we have to get perfect little James Remus Black come along with us?

 _*flashback*_

 _"Hey, Cody!" James went up to him and sneered._

 _"What do you want, Black?" Cody said in exasperation._

 _"I saw how you head to the arena when Ariana was leaving, too. I also saw how you were staring at her. You like her, don't you?"_

 _Cody turned red. "You don't know that."_

 _"You don't stand a chance, dweeb! Ariana would definitely go for the smart, cool kind." He wrinkled his nose and looked Cody up and down. "Not the uncool, good-for-nothing kind. She's obviously going to fall for me! You may be her best friend as of now, but trust me, I'll get her." With that, he turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Cody feeling self-conscious of himself and disheartened._

 _"He's right," Cody mumbled to himself. "Ariana will never like a dork like me." He sighed, shoved his hands into his jacket, and he dejectedly walked off to the Hephaestus cabin, James's sneer stuck in his head._

 _*flashback end*_

James and I eyed each other warily, and Nico noticed. Aleanne and Janella talked to each other, discussing plans for what to do first, and Nico just kind of kept to himself, continuously playing with that creepy skull ring he had. Eventually, Nico spoke.

"Where are we going first?" Nico asked skeptically.

Aleanne blinked.

"We are going North, to...er, I can't exactly pinpoint where, but I can faintly track a Key, very faintly, using my powers. I'm thinking someplace in...Nevada?" She said, questioning herself.

"Are you absolutely sure that we're going to Nevada?" James asked. Aleanne nodded.

"But you said you could faintly feel it? What if it's a trap? What if we're going in the wrong direction?" He continued. I turned to him.

"Dude! Just trust her! Why do you have to question anything and everything?" I accused, pointing a finger at his chest. Everybody was silent.

"Do you two have some beef with each other, or what's going on?" Janella asked, but as a daughter of Aphrodite, she would already know what. James grinned.

"Well-"

I clamped a hand over his mouth and death glared him.

"Well, nothing! Nothing at all!" I exclaimed, then removed my hand and nervously laughed. "Lead the way, Aleanne."

Aleanne shrugged and continued walking. James kept his huge mouth shut after that, which I was grateful for. Janella glanced at me and James occasionally but never said anything, which made me slightly uncomfortable. Did she know or did she not?

An hour passed, and we hadn't run into anything. I counted that as lucky, then naturally our luck jinxed itself, and an invisible force pushed us to the ground.

"Get down!" Aleanne hissed, and she manipulated the Mist to make it seem like we weren't there. An _empousa_ was carrying something, I couldn't see what, and a voice resonated with it.

An icy voice that gave me the chills. Nico looked alarmed, and I assumed he knew whose voice that was.

"Where are those demigodly brats? The map showed that they would be here!" It exclaimed, and the _empousa_ flinched slightly.

"I don't know! Didn't that stupid cat of yours, Blitz or whatever, take that map? He must've replaced it with a fake one!" She retorted.

"Don't you _dare_ blame my beloved Blizzard! He is loyal to me beyond comprehension!" The disembodied voice wailed. The _empousa_ rolled her eyes.

"Okay, your Iciness. Whatever you say..." She said sarcastically. Something clicked in my brain.

 _'Your Iciness?'_ I thought. _That could be so many gods related to the cold...Or goddess._

I turned around to face Nico.

"Could she be talking about Khione?" I whispered urgently. Nico shrugged.

"I can't be sure...I can't recognize it." He said, but something in his eyes told me that he _did_ know who it was. James's eyes went wide, and he started mouthing something.

"Whose voice is that?" He asked us.

"Not sure..." Janella said.

"Me either..." Aleanne agreed. I shook my head, indicating that I wasn't too certain either. And then, whoop-dee-doo, the _empousa_ sniffed the air and was immediately highly alerted.

"I smell demigod. They're nearby!" She shrieked, and she morphed into her ghastly, monstrous form. James's eyes darted everywhere, then he motioned for us to get closer to him. We all scooted closer, but I stayed as far as I could hear him.

"I've got a plan," He whispered. "Aleanne, can you keep us all cloaked separately?" He asked urgently. She nodded.

"Yeah..."

"Good. Nico and I'll take her from behind, you and Janella take the sides, and Cody'll take Ugly's front." James instructed, and however much I didn't want to agree, I nodded.

"Why does Cody go on the front alone?" Janella pointed out. James smirked.

"She'll definitely be smitten with perfect little Cody. He's our sacrifice if everything backfires." He said.

"I feel so loved right now," I muttered under my breath, and Janella and Aleanne giggled.

"On my count, we'll sneak up and attack."

"But won't she smell us?" Nico asked. James facepalmed himself.

"CRUD! I forgot about that...We'll just have to wing it if that happens. Besides, like I said, Cody is our sacrifice. She'll totally fall for him." He said and then held up three fingers.

"Three, two, one. DISPERSE!" He whisper-yelled, and we scattered into our different spots. I crept up to her front, Cody and Nico snuck behind, and Aleanne and Janella sneaked to both sides of her. I heard a guttural cry from one of us, and we all struck upon her in a flurry of Stygian Iron, Imperial Gold, Celestial Bronze, and that occasional puff of silver from Aleanne. I ran my Imperial Gold sword through her stomach, Nico and Cody sticking their blades into her kidneys, and Aleanne threw acidic silver powder while Janella rammed her Celestial Bronze sword through the _empousa_ 's side. She screamed in agony for a good four seconds, and then she was gone. All that was left was a bit of silver powder and a puddle of black mixed with gold dust. It was a sickening sight. The little device she was holding clattered to the ground, and then broke in half, and the voice yelling the name "Kelli" fizzled out. Nico gingerly picked up the device, and it turned out to be some kind of...tablet if you could call it that. The screen was cracked, and it was just barely holding the damage together. I took it from him and pocketed it as evidence. For what, I wasn't sure.

"Um...Shall we continue on our way?" Aleanne asked meekly, and we all nodded.

"Let's go," I said, and we kept walking. I was suspicious of the lack of monsters. Weren't we supposed to be attacked by monsters every three minutes?! And that assault on the _empousa_...That was way too easy...

I had a feeling that the path ahead was going to get _much_ more harder. _Much_ , much more.


	20. Chapter 20

**Ariana**

Blizzard and I finished marking up the map. We made some... _modifications_ to it. Modifications, meaning we scratched the arrow pointing North and made one pointing South, and we left the arrow pointing to the Underworld down, but we pointed it farther away from the entrances. As a precaution, I knew there was a museum of keys in Nevada, so we pointed an arrow facing Florida. I scratched out any notes Khione made on it, and we finished. Blizzard was satisfied.

"Great. I'll take this, enchant it to make it look like the actual one, and bring you the real one disguised as the fake." He said, and I scratched behind his ear.

"Thanks, Blizzard! I owe you one." I said, and he purred contentedly. A _dracaena_ passed by, barely acknowledging the cat with the map walking by. He planted the fake, and he brought the real one back to my...Stay area. I noticed how disheveled I was, so I pulled my hair-tie out of my hair and re-braided it.

"You're right. You DO owe me one." Blizzard said. I smiled.

"So, what-" My voice faltered as I saw names starting to bloom across the map, showing their exact locations. I gasped.

"This is kinda like the Marauder's Map!" I said, utterly astonished. Blizzard flashed a toothy grin.

"If you tell anyone I told you this, I will blatantly deny it, but Khione likes to _read_. It's disgusting, I know, but she loves Harry Potter." He said. To be honest, I took a bit of offense at the comment that reading was disgusting. I raised an eyebrow.

"Reading isn't disgusting..."

"Ugh! Humans sitting in one spot all day, turning pieces of paper with writing on them. Where's the fun in that?!" Blizzard said, faking a gag. I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. So, let's check the map out..." I looked all around it, and close to Camp Half-Blood were the figures of Nico and Cody! I smiled. _So they got the quest underway!_ But, alongside Nico and Cody were three others...Aleanne, Janella, and James.

 _Who the heck are they?_ I thought to myself. Blizzard peeked over and his bright blue eyes dimmed a little.

"What's wrong?" I asked, bewildered.

"The demigods have gotten the quest underway. The prophecy had said 'two children of Hades'. You and di Angelo are the two children," He said, and something struck me. I never told him the lines of the prophecy. How could he have known about them?

I heard someone outside, and Blizzard quickly hid the map and turned invisible. I thought that was a pretty neat trick he just pulled off. An _empousa_ entered in the human form of a stunningly beautiful teenager in a cheerleading outfit. She scowled.

"Come on, Queen Khione needs you outside, _scum_ ," She spat. My eyes wandered to the little pocket on her dress with a name on it; Kelli.

 _I remember reading about this sassy little lady,_ I thought to myself scornfully. Nevertheless, I stood up and walked outside with her. I felt something latch onto my shoulders, and a chink of something in my pocket, and I instantly knew it was Blizzard. I smiled softly. Kelli led me outside to the cave and wrinkled her nose at my black clothes.

"You need more of a colorful wardrobe, Little Miss Gloom. Now, c'mon. I'm handing you off to Natasha, my fellow cheerleading _empousa_." Kelli shoved me forward, and another _empousa_ in a red cheerleading outfit, caramel skin, black hair, and olive green eyes scanned me up and down, her gaze injected with a gallon of disgust. Natasha beckoned me towards her, and I scuffled forward, giving her my trademarked deluxe death-glare that I reserved for the people (or evil hags!) that I hated the most.

"Come on, you little brat, I have to take you to Queen Khione." She said, wrinkling her nose in disgust like Kelli did, and she marched forward, leaving me to quickly scramble after her. I stomped towards her, seething, and I whirled through different thoughts to make a break for it. Then I remembered the threat of hurting my family and the only friend I had, so I swallowed those thoughts and kept walking.

"Oh, Queen Khiooooone! I brought the little braaaaaaaaaat!" Natasha called, smirking. I felt a whoosh of cold air swirl all around us, and I shivered, suddenly chilled to the bone. A woman materialized in front of us, her skin as pale as snow, her jet-black hair whirling all around her face, her coffee-brown eyes filled with wild excitement.

"Good, good! Everything should go according to plan...That is, if the baby bat will co-operate..." She grinned evilly and showed me the demigods on the quest. A kid with blond hair that I could only assume was an Athena or Apollo kid...Maybe James? A girl with cinnamon brown hair streaked with purple, another girl with strawberry-blonde hair streaked with blue, and then Cody. I unintentionally caught my breath. His messy, dark brown hair, his hazel eyes twinkling that they always did, it made my heart melt a little bit. If you tell anyone, I will blatantly deny it and proceed to murder you, but I was hit with a twinge of jealousy when I saw him talking to the girl with the purple streak. He addressed her as "Aleanne". The girl with the blue streak, I guess she was Janella, was trying to make small talk with Nico, who was blatantly ignoring her, looking shaken. I thought I saw the faintest trace of gold dust in his hair, but then I thought it was a trick of the light and blinked.

Suddenly, in a flash of white and blue, the image was gone, and I saw all of them dead. I stifled my urge to cry out, and I turned to face Khione, steel in my expression.

"What do you need me to do? I'm only an idiotic 12-year old. I can't do _anything_ right."

She smiled.

"Oh, I think we'll find great use for you, Ariana Reagan Campbell."

I stiffened when she said my full name, then relaxed before she could blast me into snowy oblivion. She beckoned Natasha forward, and she they started having a whisper conversation. I heard, from the snippet of the conversation, the names "Cody" and "Nico". I had a mental panic attack. What was Frost Breath going to do with them?! Images of torture flashed through my mind; Nico and Cody gagged and hanging upside-down. Nico and Cody being hung. Nico and Cody under a guillotine. I took a deep breath to calm myself, but the images kept on rolling, and tears sprung to my eyes. I mentally slapped myself.

 _You're over-reacting, Ariana! They'll be fine,_ I scolded myself. But I couldn't help feeling uneasy. Natasha stole a glance at me in my distressed state and smirked, which got me even more worried than before. I heard a hiss, then a roar, and everything went black.

 **A/N: Oooh! What does Khione need Ariana for right now? What do you think she's going to do with Nico and Cody? How did Blizzard know the lines of the prophecy? Leave your thoughts in the review section!**


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